Activists hold anti-war rally

Anti-war groups demonstrated and marched in downtown Chicago on the eve of the seventh anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Nearly 80 anti-war groups were expected to take part in the rally which began at the Federal Building and ended in Washington Square Park.

The protestors want U.S. troops to withdraw from both Iraq and Afghanistan. They waved flags and had signs, buttons and brochures to drive home their point. The group included war veterans who served in Iraq.

"Even though keep talking about withdrawal, we're deploying troops over there today. And our country needs to recognize that there's a lot of soldiers over there," said Aaron Hughes, Iraq war veteran.

"And we need to stop killing and we need to not invade countries that are not showing signs of aggression towards the United States and the money is so needed in other areas," said Kat Doyle, anti-war protestor.

Chicago police were along the route mostly to monitor traffic for the peaceful protest.